starting trucking Company 100% owner operator

14 day minimum to go active. There is a public protest period that you must wait. True, if your insurance is active when you file, the chances of going beyond 14 are slim. The insurance takes 3-5 business days to post into your authority from the day they receive it. You do NOT have to have insurance the day you initially file for your authority. You can get your numbers and authority and wait up to 6 months from the date of filing to apply insurance. Best advice I can offer is let someone else file on your behalf; OOIDA or any of the plethora of places that specializes in this. Make a single mistake on your app and your $300 filing fee is not refundable AND you don't get your authority. Have to refile and repay.

 

Hire an attorney.

 

1), get your M/C#, you will need Carrier insurance within a short period of applying for your m/c. & Legal Processor.

2), Tier 1 is a shipping Company, 2), Tier 2 is the Carrier, Tier 3, is the contractor who has a contract with Carrier, (Tier 2). When you contact an attorney, who is familiar with business contracts, i would make sure, that your contractor, (Tier 3) would be barred for a set period of time with establishing a direct contract with Tier 1. i.e. Tier 1 & 2 will have a working contract. Tier 2 & 3 will have a working contract. Tier 3 will be barred from having a contract with Tier 1 for a set period of time after leaving Tier 2.

 

Simple answer? Anti competition clause. But it's really not that simple. Best advice is either hire an attorney or seek funding elsewhere for your truck.

 

Mara,
Thanks for your advise.... I just filed for my MC as well and in the process of getting the requirements fulfilled.... you say, 'Pay your cargo insurance' , but do you mean, pay 'your liability insurance'? coz the letter I just received from FMCSA is asking for the Liability insurance not cargo....I know I eventually will need cargo but to comply, don't I only need liability? please clarify.

 

Hey Mara,


I was reading your post from October about starting a 100% owner op company and I have some Qs for you if you don't mind. PS -- Merry Christmas.

Do you use 100% owner ops? How many do you have?

Here is my story-- I was a very successful freight broker at a large firm, but was let go and now I have a 1 year non compete. So, I have to stay away from brokering. I want to start my own trucking company now and was thinking I could sign on owner operators and just dispatch them. Is that what you are doing?

 

Technical speak, all you need is general liability of $750,000 to get your DOT numbers active. However, having just gone through this with my insurance company, let me give you my example. I know that may seem like a cheaper route at first, but as my agent so eloquently put it, "It will cause rear end bleeding later."
First off, getting just the basic coverage, then upgrading when you are ready to run 30 days later will cost you an extra $1,350. Here was my breakdown:
Minimum policy for one month $800. After that, to run with what the REAL WORLD REQUIRES:
1. Policy amendment $350.
2. Vehicle/cargo addition $600
3. Policy increase $400

My full monthly policy with $1,000,000 general liability, $400,000 cargo, rider protection, bobtail, and vehicle coverage of $85,000 is only $1,050 per month. The policy required by DOT to activate my numbers was $800. Add the fees for the changes on top? That's TWO MONTHS OF PREMIUMS IF I JUST GOT WHAT IS REQUIRED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! Bear down and spend a little now to save a lot later. These were my numbers and yours will vary depending on many factors. They are merely a representation of what it would have cost me, your mileage may vary.

 

That's the easy part. Dispatching a bunch of picky, finicky o/o is the real fun if you get some to lease on.

 

If I were to own my own company and have 3-4 owner operators (for example) does each o/o have to do their insurance through me or can each owner op have their own insurance policy?


AKA will I be paying the insurance cost or will each owner op being paying for the insurance?